Anti-Choice Stance Makes New Jersey’s Governor Less Popular

Chris Christie may be wooing potential presidential voters, but his anti-choice moves are alienating his own state.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has so far played it coy as to whether or not he is running for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination.  But his decision to address a crowd of anti-abortion activists makes it clear that his ambitions lie somewhere other than with appealing to the citizens of the state, and their reaction shows it.

Via NJ.com:

Gov. Chris Christie’s speech on the Statehouse steps earlier this year expressing support for anti-abortion activists lowered opinions of him, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll. While 54 percent of those poll said the speech had no affect, 31 percent said they felt worse about Christie after the speech compared to 14 percent who reported feeling better about him.

The poll, of 811 registered voters conducted Feb. 24-26, found that the overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans support some form of legalized abortion. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 3.4 percentage points.

It’s no surprise that Christie would need to position himself as an anti-abortion crusader if he wants to woo today’s Republican activists.   The Courrier Post writes:

“Wading into the abortion issue was clearly not about winning additional votes in New Jersey,” said David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. “On the other hand, it may be a good way to nail down the base and present conservative credentials nationally.”

It may be a good move nationally, but his local constituents don’t seem happy at all.